Looks good on paper if Oakland had any base to build upon, but they don't, they are starting from scratch and could be again in the running for worst team in the NFL for the next 2 or 3 years. You cannot rebuild a team through FA, FA, if used properly, fills in the holes left on a competing team to take them to a higher level after the draft has given them a strong corps to build upon. Having money but no talent leads nowhere.

Oakland must now rebuild through the draft and looking at their base, it will be years before the draft gives them enough talent to be competitive. I wouldn't want my team to be in their position.

They are basically an expansion team and will be fortunate to win 3 games next season. McKenzie came from Green Bay's front office so hopefully he'll follow Ted Thompson's model of rebuilding through the draft, but like you say that's going to take time before they are competitive. He inherited a mess and had nothing to work with in last year's draft.

The Raiders currently have more cap room than any other team for both 2014 and 2015 and they can use that space to eventually re-sign some of the few good youngsters on their roster - Veldheer, Wisniewski and Houston.

If they draft well for the next 3 years and use mid-tier free agency to fill some holes and depth they'll have a good young roster with rookie contracts and lots of cap space by 2015.

And don't forget Rolando McClain who would also add a further $10.895m to the Dead Money figure if he was released today. In all likelihood he'll be a June 1 cut which means that number will be reduced to about $3.955m for the 2013 cap (his $2.42m prorated bonus and $1.535m guaranteed salary), with the remaining $6.94m added as Dead Money in 2014.

Huff was given one of the two designated June 1 cuts that each team are allowed to use. That allows Huff to find a new team immediately instead of waiting for June when teams will have less to spend.

Basic Salary: $4m
Prorated Bonus: $3,288,750
Cap Figure: $7,288,750

The Raiders must keep Huff on their books until Jun 1st. Once that day arrives his $4m basic drops off the books and only his 2013 figure of $3,288,750 will count as Dead Money against this year's cap. The other two prorated bonus payments for 2014 and 2015 of $3,288,750 each will then be accelerated onto the 2014 cap - ($6,577,500).

Once Palmer is gone it will add a further $9.34m onto the Dead Money but as his Cap Figure is $15.35m, the Raiders will create another $6m in cap space (which they'll need and use on Matt Flynn and the rookie class).

The Raiders will then have $42,388,639 in Dead Money with Huff's remaining $6,577,500 Dead Money going on the 2014 cap.

* If McClain is a Jun 1st cut that number jumps again to $46,343,639 for 2013 and the total 2014 Dead Money figure would be $13,517,500.

* It's very unlikely to happen but if McClain was released and is not a Jun 1st cut, then Oakland's 2013 Dead Money figure would be $53,283,639 with Huff's remaining $6,577,500 Dead Money on the 2014 cap.

So long story short, the Raiders are in serious trouble for the next couple of years.

Honestly it looked like Oakland was on the up and up a few years ago, then they trade for Palmer and its all downhill. I think its a credit to Hue Jackson (as a HC, not a GM) that he got an 8-8 season out of that roster.

So long story short, the Raiders are in serious trouble for the next couple of years.

Honestly it looked like Oakland was on the up and up a few years ago, then they trade for Palmer and its all downhill. I think its a credit to Hue Jackson (as a HC, not a GM) that he got an 8-8 season out of that roster.

In serious trouble when it comes to wins and losses, but cap wise they'll be in good shape from 2014 onwards.

That Palmer trade was just the worst. They were on track for the playoffs and Jason Campbell went down and they panicked. The Raiders will turn it around with their new GM, but it will take a couple years for the philosphilosophies to take effect.

McKenzie can't sign anything but budget price free agents because of Oakland's cap situation and had nothing to work with in last year's draft. They had already traded their picks in Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 for Carson Palmer, Terrelle Pryor, Jason Campbell, Aaron Curry, Taiwan Jones and Joe Barksdale. It is far early to judge him.

The Raiders need to stop trading away their draft picks for average or old washed up veterans. They should try to trade down and still draft Geno Smith. A rookie QB under a rookie contract sounds better to me than trading for Flynn.

And poor Jaguars. But again, they do still have a lot of cap room so I guess it evens out.

So far he's hired a head coach who's way in over his head, and is about to spend some of the few draft picks he has left on a mediocre backup quarterback.

And some of the few players that he had that were actually semi talented, he could have re-signed on affordable contracts and let them go.

When you don't have any picks to improve your team, it's not a bright idea to let go of the few talented guys you have when you could have afforded to keep them cheap and not jeopardize the future of your cap in the process.

All I'm saying is, so far, he's not exactly been Ozzie Newsome. The few decisions he's made have not been great ones. Or even good ones.

That's not the point. You don't improve your team by staying mediocre at the qb position. I rather see a team try and fail at upgrading their qb position through the draft then just go status quo with retreads and hope for the 1 in a million chance that it works.

It never works. Even when it does like Kurt Warner, you get 3 years out of it then suck again. It's just not a good model of success to follow.

GMs are so afraid of failing on a qb that they rather play it safe, but don't realize that playing it safe is just as bad for their job security as failing on a drafted quarterback.

That's not the point. You don't improve your team by staying mediocre at the qb position. I rather see a team try and fail at upgrading their qb position through the draft then just go status quo with retreads and hope for the 1 in a million chance that it works.

It never works. Even when it does like Kurt Warner, you get 3 years out of it then suck again. It's just not a good model of success to follow.

GMs are so afraid of failing on a qb that they rather play it safe, but don't realize that playing it safe is just as bad for their job security as failing on a drafted quarterback.

So far he's hired a head coach who's way in over his head, and is about to spend some of the few draft picks he has left on a mediocre backup quarterback.

And some of the few players that he had that were actually semi talented, he could have re-signed on affordable contracts and let them go.

When you don't have any picks to improve your team, it's not a bright idea to let go of the few talented guys you have when you could have afforded to keep them cheap and not jeopardize the future of your cap in the process.

All I'm saying is, so far, he's not exactly been Ozzie Newsome. The few decisions he's made have not been great ones. Or even good ones.

He's accepted the fact that the Raiders need to be rebuilt from the bottom up and isn't trying to fool anybody by being satisfed with 6-8 wins. Better to drop to the bottom of the pile and use high picks to give you the impact players the team needs so desperately than try to stay in the middle of the pack with zero hope for championships.

Obviously, he has the support of his owner in taking this route which clearly indicates to me that they know the first lesson in building a championship team. Only time will tell if they get it right. He's showed me a lot of guts and intellegence in taking this approach and I'd give him at least an 'A' for effort.

And it makes plenty of sense. A GM is gonna get 3 to 4 years to build his team regardless of how he does it. So whether you draft a qb or not, if you don't succeed you have 4 years to turn it around. Why not go with a qb to develop? That way if you hit on it, you're set for the next 10+ years.

Even if you succeed with a retread qb, it's a short term solution and you're back to square one very quickly.

And the way the draft is now, it makes more sense than ever to gamble on a qb. They don't cost much. If they suck, you can literally quit on them after 1 year if you wanted to. Easily after 2 years. So the pros far far outweigh the cons with the way the rookie wage scale is set up now.

To not gamble on a rookie qb with the way the league is set up now is actually pretty stupid. The "safe" vet is more expensive, shorter shelf life, and in all likelihood has a lower chance of panning out than a rookie who can develop.

So far he's hired a head coach who's way in over his head, and is about to spend some of the few draft picks he has left on a mediocre backup quarterback.

And some of the few players that he had that were actually semi talented, he could have re-signed on affordable contracts and let them go.

When you don't have any picks to improve your team, it's not a bright idea to let go of the few talented guys you have when you could have afforded to keep them cheap and not jeopardize the future of your cap in the process.

All I'm saying is, so far, he's not exactly been Ozzie Newsome. The few decisions he's made have not been great ones. Or even good ones.

Whoa now. Which talented players did he pass on giving affordable contracts? The $35 million contract to a rotational dlineman in Bryant? The $25 million to Phillip Wheeler? Neither of those are cheap and Bryant's contract certainly doesn't match his ability. This is an idiot who got liquored up and tried to break down some poor family's door. As for on the field, he was in the middle of the line more than any other DT last year as the Raiders continually lost gap integrity up front. Their troubles with the run D can definitely be linked to him.
He's a solid #3 option, but he's not a guy to build around and certainly not worth $35 million for a team in cap hell that won't be competing for his prime years.

Huff and Myers. They're not world beaters, but they were solid and could have been re-signed at an affordable price.

Michael Huff was already signed. And he had a cap number of $11+ mill. An would continue to have such a number for the foreseeable future. And Myers is a dime a dozen. He was seen as just a backup blocking TE just last offseason.

I actually really like the way McKenzie is going about things. The Raiders appear to be throwing in the towel on the 2013 season and getting rid of their salary cap problems in the process. While this is a total bummer for fans in the upcoming season, think about the position they will be in at the onset of free agency next year if they do end up with the #1 pick in the 2014 draft. They would basically be in the same boat Indy was in last year. Just knowing that they would be bringing in Bridgewater would give them a lot of optimism, free agents would more excited for the opportunity to come play for them, and with all the bad salary cap crap behind them, that is when the rebuild actually begins. I think McKenzie will build them well from the bottom up, starting with a true franchise QB. They will have the money and cap space to bring in proven free agents, but I don't see him blowing it all unwisely and creating another cap conundrum. McKenzie learned from Ted Thompson, who is one of the best stewards of his team's finances in the league. His plan may be discouraging at the moment, but I think that it will result in a perennial contender.

Michael Huff was already signed. And he had a cap number of $11+ mill. An would continue to have such a number for the foreseeable future. And Myers is a dime a dozen. He was seen as just a backup blocking TE just last offseason.

But you said "it's not a bright idea to let go of the few talented guys you have" lol. The Raiders let go of the Huff when they cut him, not when he signed for the Ravens. Him signing for the Ravens has nothing to do with it. At that point he's a FA just like every other FA and the Raiders decided against signing to a cheap contract, just like 30 other teams did.